'Anti-fraud' lawyer faces jail for stealing £1 million

A high-flying barrister hired to purge the travel industry of corruption is facing jail for stealing £1 million from his bosses.

Ricardo Nardi, 36, who was head of legal services at the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta), hid the money in a series of bank accounts during a seven-year swindle.

Father of three Nardi has pleaded guilty to 24 charges of deception between 1995 and 2002. He faces up to six years in jail at Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court, where he was being sentenced this afternoon.

Assets including his Porsche Boxster, wife Samantha's silver BMW X5, and their £500,000 home in Pulloxhill, Bedfordshire, have been frozen by the High Court pending a civil action by Abta.

The organisation acts as the travel industry's consumer watchdog and guards against rip-offs by disreputable firms.

Nardi, educated at Lancaster University, was seen as one of the industry's sharpest legal talents. He joined Abta 15 years ago and was appointed to the executive post in 1996, charged with finding ways of reducing fraud in the British travel business.

The industry loses £3 million a year to credit card fraud and rogue companies.

Solicitor Trevor Sears, acting on behalf of Abta, said: "This was a gross breach of trust. Mr Nardi played the roles of both gamekeeper and poacher."